The Competition Commission turns its spot light on car part makers as it suspects collusion

Earlier today, it emerged that the Competition Commission is investigating numerous car part makers for price fixing and collusion.

The number of companies in the investigation tops 80.

The commission suspects the alleged illegal practices have been going on for more than a decade.

Let's take a closer look…

82 manufacturers of car parts are involved in the probe

The Competition Commission is investigating “82 manufacturers of automotive components,” reports BDLive. This follows the commission receiving “information that the manufacturers allegedly colluded by fixing prices”.

The allegation involves 120 components where the manufacturers divided these up “among themselves… tendering collusively,” adds BDLive.

Manufacturers under investigation include “Panasonic and Mitsubishi,” says Fin24. And parts include spark plugs and electric power steering.

Sparking the investigation was one manufacturer which “confessed in an effort to escape prosecution,” notes MoneyWeb. The Competition Commission suspects it could have been going on since 2000.

Car components for the SA market are at the core of the commission’s investigation

The commissioner of the commission, Tembinkosi Bonakele, says they’re prioritising “the investigation of cases that involve automotive components that are in vehicles assembled and supplied to the South Africa market,” reports the SABC.

The manufacturers under investigation “supplied parts to Toyota, Daihatsu, Nissan, Isuzu, Honda, Suzuki, General Motors, Hyundai, Yamaha, Volvo, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Ford,” adds Fin24. The commissioner says their investigation launches on the back of other similar probes internationally.

This latest investigation comes just as the Competition Commission announced a probe into “the furniture removal market where almost 70 companies were involved in collusive tendering,” says BDLive.

Time will tell what the commission’s investigation reveals. And whether collusive practices have been going on in the industry for 14 years.


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Tags: competition commission, car parts, car part manufacturers, competition commission investigation, car components,